Michael Nath
December 2021 - Courthouse Wash
About the Image(s)
The image is from Courthouse wash in Arches National Park. Originally taken in color in 2005 when the park was virtually empty (and is now over populated with tourists). Image was taken at 1/100s F10.0 ISO = 100 at 50mm with a 18-55mm lens. Color was enhanced with NIK Vivenza prior to converting to black and white with an adjustment layer in Photoshop followed by processing with NIK SEP2 to adjust the tones. Still need to remove the halo from the rock horizon.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
15 comments posted
Hi Michael: I love your image... beautifully composed, and most shots of the Court House at Arches are taken from the other side. The three sisters are barely discernable but, are not the subject of your image anyhow. Since you are aware of the dreaded halos... they can always be fixed/removed later. Beautiful clouds with great contrast. Posted: 12/05/2021 17:47:12
Thank you Ella, I appreciate your comments. I do admit I tend to avoid the more obvious tourist shots unless it is unavoidable. Posted: 12/06/2021 11:18:17
Michael, a special location well seen and photographed.
Remove those halos and you have a very good image.
Posted: 12/09/2021 01:58:10
Remove those halos and you have a very good image.
Posted: 12/09/2021 01:58:10
Thank you John. I need to overcome my inertia to remove the halos. Posted: 12/09/2021 11:44:29
Michael - a dramatic landscape nicely composed.Highlight details just retained, but I feel that the sky is a little over contrasty. One technique which I use in such situations is to apply a white layer to the image in Soft Light mode and adjust it's opacity to suit. In this case a mask would be needed to expose the sky only. Posted: 12/09/2021 10:44:17
Thank you Peter, I appreciate it. I will need to try the technique you mention. I have never applied a white layer and adjusted opacity to reduce contrast. It sounds interesting. Posted: 12/09/2021 11:46:42
Ed Ries
Peter, thanks for reminding me about your sky contrast reduction method. You had mentioned it to me previously but I totally forgot. Posted: 12/11/2021 10:01:37
Ed Ries
Hello Michael. I like your dramatic lighting and composition.
I'm wondering if you used a noise reduction filter such as Topaz Noise AI whether it would help the sky noise without changing the impact of your sky. Posted: 12/11/2021 10:00:06
I'm wondering if you used a noise reduction filter such as Topaz Noise AI whether it would help the sky noise without changing the impact of your sky. Posted: 12/11/2021 10:00:06
Thank you Ed for your input (and compliments, they are very much appreciated). I had not considered noise reduction as I chose a different path. For this image, I used NIK SEP2 and choose a base style (such as "push process" or "low key" or "wet rocks") followed by Global Adjustments to modify the structure and/or contrast of the image. I then click on Film Types and choose which film I want to emulate where I could modify the "Grain" in addition to a final histogram and curves modification. As this is a digital image, there is no Grain but Noise is added to simulate the look of grain from a film based image. It is an artificial artifact that I added, therefore no noise reduction filter was used. If you want, feel free to download the file and use a noise reduction application to see what happens. I would be interested in seeing your results. Posted: 12/11/2021 10:42:55
Ed Ries
I understand. Thanks' for the explanation Posted: 12/12/2021 11:24:39
Hi Michael
Wonderful dramatic image like Peters image a splash of light highlighting the foreground and for me captured to perfection lovely detail retained in the mid tones as well I like the sky I think it mirrors the tones below.I bet this was a wonderful sight in real life and you have a spectacular image to remind you of that moment in time.
Forgot to mention the letterbox crop is the perfect choice for an image such as this. Posted: 12/13/2021 14:09:45
Wonderful dramatic image like Peters image a splash of light highlighting the foreground and for me captured to perfection lovely detail retained in the mid tones as well I like the sky I think it mirrors the tones below.I bet this was a wonderful sight in real life and you have a spectacular image to remind you of that moment in time.
Forgot to mention the letterbox crop is the perfect choice for an image such as this. Posted: 12/13/2021 14:09:45
Thank you Ian. I will admit that Arches is probably my favorite park to visit for the photographic opportunities. Due to the more prevalent overcrowding that exist today, I will probably spend more time in the Escalante area which is equally spectacular but far less famous. The drive down Utah highway 12 scares most of the tourist away. Posted: 12/13/2021 16:01:23
Hi Michael
Sounds wonderful I so look forward to seeing images from you forthcomimg trips. Posted: 12/14/2021 05:28:38
Sounds wonderful I so look forward to seeing images from you forthcomimg trips. Posted: 12/14/2021 05:28:38
Hi Michael, I really like the composition of your image. It's difficult to take such an image under such bright conditions. If it were my image I would see how lightening the middle portion impacts the image. I don't think I would lighten the sky. The haloes are an issue, and require some work as pointed out earlier.
Posted: 12/15/2021 17:33:19
Posted: 12/15/2021 17:33:19
Thank you Paul, I appreciate it. Posted: 12/16/2021 11:55:55